Blindia contecta
Common name
Moss
Synonyms
Weissia contecta Hook.f. et Wilson
Family
Seligeriaceae
Flora category
Non-vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Mosses
Current conservation status
- Conservation status of New Zealand mosses, 2014 (PDF, 583.87 kB)
The conservation status of 109 New Zealand moss taxa was assessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). Four taxa and one undescribed entity that were not included in previous assessments have been added to the list. The conservation status of only two taxa has changed in this assessment. A full list is presented, along with a statistical summary and brief notes on the changes. This list replaces all previous NZTCS lists for mosses. Authors: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Allan J. Fife, Jessica E. Beever, Patrick J. Brownsey and Rodney A. Hitchmough.
- Conservation status of New Zealand hornworts and liverworts, 2014 (PDF, 695.44 kB)
The conservation status of the New Zealand hornwort and liverwort flora is reassessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). A full list is presented, along with a statistical summary and brief notes on the most important changes. This list replaces all previous NZTCS lists for New Zealand hornworts and liverworts which previously had been part of a generic bryophyte conservation status assessment that included mosses. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, David Glenny, John Braggins, Matt Renner, Matt von Konrat, John Engel, Catherine Reeb and Jeremy Rolfe.
Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, SO
Previous conservation status
2004 | Range Restricted
Distribution
Indigenous. Mainly subantarctic. recorded from Iles de Kerguelen, Heard, Campbell and the Auckland Islands. Also reported from South America (Chile) but those records are not substantiated by specimens
Detailed description
Autoicous, robust, subaquatic moss forming loose, somewhat dull to lustrous tufts. Plants golden-green to yellow-brown above, olive-green to black below. Stems stuff, rigidly and sparsely branched, with outer stem cells thick-walled. Leaves rigid, loosely erect to slightly secund, occasionally with apices curved, sometimes contorted to helicoid when dry, stiffly erect to spreading, upper portions slightly reflexed when moist, 3.0-8.0 mm long; lamina long subulate from an ovate to oblong-ovate base with subulae hemispheric in transverse section. about 2x lamina length, acute to narrowly obtuse, some leaves deciduous, not decurrent; margins entire. Nerve more or less 100-200 microns wide, variable in width, but always strong and distinct. Upper cells 8-20 x 5-8 microns, rounded-quadrate to short-rectangular, thick-walled, covering the excurrent costa. Lower cells 30-140 x 5-10 microns, elongate to rectangular, thick-walled, non-porose, straight. Alar cells 20-65 x 10-35 microns, variable, slightly enlarged and hyaline to thicker-walled, orange, and inflated, sometimes auriculate, not reaching nerve. Perichaetial leaves similar to vegetative, more or less wider at base. perigonia lateral below perichaetia. Seta 1.0-2.0 mm long, thick, stout, straight not twisted. Capsules with urns 0.5-1.1 mm long, hemispheric to obovate when dry and moist, brown, deeply immersed. Exothecial cells 15-35 microns wide at mid-urn, decreasing in size towards rim, isodiametric to rounded, thick-walled, rim cells in 5-10 rows, oblate to quadrate, with thick,. sinuous walls. Stomates not seen. Peristome of 16, lanceolate teeth, hyaline above, broken in upper portions in old capsules and blunt. Operculum conic rostrate, the beak more or less erect, long. Spores 32-40 microns.
Fruiting
Although fruit has been seen insufficient information exists to provide any details on the timing of fruiting
Threats
Not Threatened. Listed because it qualifies as Range Restricted within the New Zealand part of its range.
Substrate
Saxicolous on wet rocks, usually beside waterfalls.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange (6 November 2007). Description adapted from Bartlett & Vitt (1986).
References and further reading
Bartlett,J.K.; Vitt, D. H. 1986: A survey of the species in the genus Blindia (Bryopsida, Seligeriaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 24: 203-246.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Blindia contecta Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/blindia-contecta/ (Date website was queried)